Since there was no absolute majority on May 21, the outgoing Prime Minister had called for new elections. He hopes to extend his lead over Syriza there on Sunday and form “a stable government”.

Will this second ballot in five weeks be the right one? Outgoing right-wing Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is the big favorite in Greece’s general elections on Sunday June 25, which he hopes to win with an absolute majority to form a “stable government”. Opposite him, left leader Alexis Tsipras pledged to fight “until the last second” despite Syriza’s bitter defeat in the last election on May 21.

Polling stations opened at 7am (6am in Paris). The polls will be released when polling stations close at 8pm (7pm in Paris).

The big favorite in the polls, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, head of government from 2019 until the end of May, had won a major victory with 40.8% of the vote five weeks ago. But that advance, the scale of which surprised analysts, did not give him the absolute majority needed to form a coalition-free government. The leader of the New Democracy had ruled out the formation of a coalition and called for new elections.

A third ballot in the absence of a majority?

The latest polls give between 37.8% and 45% of the voting intentions right this time. For Syriza, which managed to get just 20.07% of the vote on May 21, down 11.5 points compared to 2019, the drop could be worse. Forecasts assume 16.8% to 20%. Kyriakos Mitsotakis is banking on a different electoral system from May 21, this time giving the party that took first place a “bonus” of up to 50 seats.

The 55-year-old leader faces two potential pitfalls. On the one hand, the possible fatigue of voters who went to the polls twice in less than two months and could prefer the beaches on this summer Sunday. On the other hand, votes are crumbling, particularly on the Conservative right, where three small formations are vying for votes from far-right sympathizers. You must register at least 3% of the votes to send MPs to Parliament. However, the number of parties represented in Parliament will have arithmetic consequences for the number of seats allotted to the New Democracy.

On Friday, Kyriakos Mitsotakis raised the specter… of a third ballot in the middle of summer, when most Greeks are on vacation. “I hope we don’t have to see each other again in early August,” he said on Skaï TV, adding: “It’s not a joke!”

The Ukrainian counter-offensive has made very slow progress over the past two weeks: only eight villages have been liberated so far. The US has expressed disappointment with the mediocre results of the counteroffensive. And for this Zelenskyy still demands weapons

Zelensky’s strength: demand more weapons.

“The Ukrainian army protects Europe from the Russians, but for that they need more weapons.”
Strong statement by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyywho has returned since Friday to ask the Allies for further help.

“Kiev needs F-16 aircraft and tactical missile systems (ATACMS),” Zelenskyy said.
“The security of Europe’s eastern flank depends only on the Ukrainian defense,” Zelenskyy repeated to avoid any doubt.

Slow and ineffective counteroffensive

The progress of the Ukrainian counteroffensive has been very slow over the past two weeks: only eight villages have been liberated so far (Novodarivka, Levadne, Storozheve, Makarivka, Blagodatne, Lobkovebe, Neskuchne and Pyatykhakty).

Even the US has expressed, albeit not openly, its disappointment with the so far mediocre results of the long-awaited counter-offensive.

In an interview with the English newspaper The Guardian, the commander of the Kiev land forces said, Oleksandr Syrskyi, He admitted that “the situation is difficult” and that penetrating the Russian defenses was more difficult than expected.

More bombing raids on Ukraine

On the 486th day of the war, Russian bombing continued: during the night Sumy and Dnipetrovsk oblasts (including the city of Nikopol) were hit, killing at least one victim, a 71-year-old man.

This is the almost universal opinion of 70 journalists specializing in this sector from 10 countries who were in Havana from June 19th to 23rd and, in addition to the debates, took the opportunity to find out about privileged scenarios on this island dedicated to the leisure industry. .

For example, they visited the resort of Varadero (140 kilometers east of the capital), the main resort of the island, which, together with Havana, is one of the places most often visited by those who come to this country to rest. .

More specifically, Mintur timely expressed its hope of ending this year with the attention of 3.5 million foreign visitors, bringing it closer to where it was in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic (of four million).

This country has more than 300 hotels with about 70,000 rooms, mainly four and five star hotels, spread throughout the archipelago.

However, there are still uncertainties about the actual impact of the entry of travelers, according to some voices.

However, the plans are gaining importance in such important elements as the promotion of information technologies and their relation to tourism.

Such aspects were discussed at the above meeting (XVI International Seminar on Journalism and Tourism) held at the José Martí International Institute of Journalism in Havana.

The appeal is organized every year by the Tourist Press Department of the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC) and on this occasion the participation of this number of communicators (they came from Panama, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Argentina, Ecuador, Canada, the United States and Cuba).

Despite the fact that the moment is difficult for the island, precisely in economic matters, due to inflation, the international trade situation and, emphatically for the authorities, the pressure of the United States on Cuba, everything seems to indicate that some tourist recipes are in place can deliver its result in a relatively short time.

The Director of Technologies and Systems of the Mintur, Pavel Pavón, and the Social Manager of the same establishment, Pedro Alejandro Cruz, attended the meeting and argued that the goal is to extend electronic communication networks to all hotels in this country and other establishments that request this.

The connoisseurs presented the lecture “Towards the digital transformation of Destination Cuba” and emphasized that it was about the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) on a global level.

They pointed out that there is currently one digital traveler using these tools before, during and after their vacation. Such a traveler is always connected, informed and needs fast services as well as personal care. These elements are taken care of by Cuba, as mentioned earlier, hoping to cover them all shortly.

For his part, Cuban professor José Luis Perelló spoke about the challenges facing tourism in the Caribbean, noting that changes are happening over time, indicating a new era for this economic sector worldwide.

He stressed that the Caribbean is a macro-tourism destination and therefore a multi-destination, encompassing 52 million inhabitants in 30 areas bordered by a maritime border (including Cuba).

A key aspect of his presentation was precisely that there are two related but separate issues, namely real estate and the work of travel agents, since hotels are taxed on the value of the shares of the main companies in this field.

This means that the construction companies build the hotels and the travel agencies fill them, as the expert defines it.

All of this is vital for Cuba as sun and sand remain the main form of recreation on this island and meanwhile investment in hotels continues, although the existing hotels are currently not full.

Therefore, the experts point to a vision of the future and to the prospects that can accompany the so-called travel industry, as long as the difficulties are mitigated by opportunities of which Cuba has many, such as safety, beauty of the country, etc. friendliness of its people, as well as the coincidence of the present.

or/rfc

In the face of events in Russia, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) has convened the government’s crisis cabinet for Sunday.

Wagner’s troop withdrawal shortly before Moscow provided relief in Russia. However, the situation remains tense. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a partial travel warning for Russia on Saturday, “Heute” reported.

Also Tanner, Schallenberg and Karner there

In view of the events, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) has convened the government’s crisis cabinet for Sunday. The cabinet will meet at 10 am at the Federal Chancellery, informs the APA.

In addition to Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens), Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (all ÖVP) will also participate in the meeting.

National Security Council meeting

A National Security Council meeting is scheduled for the next few days. The SPÖ had already requested this, reported “Heute”. Nehammer’s office also said the chancellor was receiving hourly situation updates from all available channels. This is how you get a constantly updated picture of the situation.

On Saturday, Chancellor Karl Nehammer expressed his concern about developments in Russia. Nuclear weapons must not fall into “wrong hands”. “What is happening in the Russian Federation is always of extreme strategic importance because Russia has biological, chemical and nuclear weapons,” he said.

Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen welcomes the convening of the crisis cabinet.

Red Nav-Account Hour25.06.2023, 08:20| Act: 06/25/2023, 9:45 am

Five months after the actor disappeared while hiking in the mountains of San Gabriel, California, a body was found near the search area.

After a fivemonth search, the disappearance of Julian Sands could be cleared up. Civilians strolling in Southern California near the area where authorities have been searching for the British actor found remains and alerted Fontana police, quoted by CNN International.

In a statement, San Bernardino County Police said that “civilians who were hiking contacted the Fontana Police Station after discovering the remains in the Monte Baldy forest.”

“Fontana Police Officers rushed to the scene with the Sheriff’s Department of Emergency Response. The body was transported to the coroner’s office awaiting identification, which should be completed next week. At that time we will update this press release. ” the note said.

The manhunt for the British actor, which has been going on for more than five months, has been reduced to a “limited capacity”.

Julian Sands, who was originally a mountaineer, disappeared in the Mount Baldy Bowl area. Two other climbers died in the same area this winter, and other incidents, including people missing or injured, prompted authorities to warn of the danger.

The 65yearold actor’s disappearance alert was raised at 7:30 p.m. on January 13. Julian Sands’ vehicle was immediately towed by the family, who have since hailed the “heroic” efforts of the San Bernardino Police Department.